


Hidden Thoughts

by gandalfthegregarious



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 06:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7424239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gandalfthegregarious/pseuds/gandalfthegregarious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blake struggles with her hidden feelings for her partner, but Yang catches on. She confronts her after making a shocking discovery. </p>
<p>Fluff, angst, and more fluff galore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> Like all the other fics I've posted on here recently, this originally was posted on tumblr, where many gave lots of much appreciated positive feedback. So I hope ya'll enjoy!

The familiar sound of the bell echoed throughout the corridors and classrooms of Beacon Academy, thus heralding a stampede of sorts amongst the students. Even the most patient of the young huntsmen and huntresses in training found it difficult to remain so in the final stretch of the day.

And so, nearly everyone was rather eager to leave, whether to return to their dorms and rest, or for far more rambunctious purposes. The day’s classes grew tedious with time, and therefore all were glad for the relief that was the final bell. The students poured into the halls in great, chatter-filled groups, chuckling and joking with one another. Nearly all felt an overwhelming sense of carefree lightness, with the exception of one student.

Blake Belladonna folded her arms, clutching her stack of books tightly against her chest, as she attempted to squeeze her way down the crowded corridors. She hunched her shoulders, and stared at the floor, as if trying to achieve some form of invisibility. She wasn’t particularly fond of crowds, for when she was amongst one, she felt an overwhelming sense of exposure, as if all eyes were trained on her. The subtle squeak of her leather boots against the freshly waxed floors seemed especially accentuated, and she tried to correct this attention draw by taking slow, calculated steps, thus furthering her sense of awkwardness.

There were a multitude of things that could cause such stress to Miss Belladonna. However, there was only one factor that made her feel this particular level of said stress. Pressing herself against the wall in effort to circumvent the mass of students blocking much of the hall, Blake drew in a breath. All she wanted was to get some privacy. Away from this crowd. Away from the stress. Away from her.

Blake turned a corner, before colliding with someone who had just done the same. Blake fell on her rear, her books tumbling around her. After recovering from her brief daze, she looked up at the girl with who she had collided with, the girl who loomed above her.  
Shit. She thought.

It was her. It was Yang Xiao Long.  
Blake had intended to look up and say sorry, as she would with any other student. But this was Yang. This was different. Blake felt perspiration begin to bead on her forehead, and she looked down, breaking the brief eye contact she had shared with her partner.  
Yang noticed this, but stuck her hand out nevertheless.

“Sorry about that..” She said uncertainly. “You alright there?”

Blake took her hand hesitantly, and refused to look up. She could feel her face reddening rapidly, even more so from Yang’s touch.

“I’m fine.” Blake muttered, as she got to her feet, before bending down to pick up her scattered books. Yang leaned down to help her, with the intention of meeting the Faunus’ line of sight once more. She caught it.  
Blake reached for one of her many books, but Yang placed a hand on it before she could, forcing Blake to look her in the eye fully.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Yang stated with a hint of accusation.

Blake went red again, and her lip quivered nervously.  
“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about…” She stammered, biting her lip in effort to cease its shaking. It nearly bled.

Yang smiled, but not out of her usual warmth. Rather, it was an ironic smile. As if she knew, somehow, that Blake wasn’t being straight with her. It wasn’t too difficult, really, to tell that something was up with her meek, dark-haired partner. After all, Blake’s face resembled a fire engine at that point.

Yang let out a breath, and calmed her tone. “It’s fine Blake. You can talk to me. I’m your partner. Tell me what’s up so I can help you out.” She suggested.

At this point, Blake had collected the last of her books, and stood up once more. She stared at Yang, as if pondering the possibility of saying something, before turning away.

“I- I cant do that.” She muttered, almost in a whisper. Yang heard, however.  
She watched as Blake disappeared up a nearby stairwell, her eyes wide with concern. Once Blake was out of sight, though, Yang pulled out a small, leather-bound journal from behind her back.

In her eagerness to get away, Blake had neglected to notice that Yang had held on to one of her books. A very personal book, as it happened.  
Yang sighed, fingering the journal’s worn spine tentatively. She wished it didn’t have to come to this. But the secretive Faunus had done little to cooperate, and this was Yang’s only remaining chance to gain some insight into just what Blake’s matter was as of late.

Blake had barely spoken to her in weeks, and in the few instances she had, it had been incredibly brief, if not exceptionally quiet on Blake’s behalf. Yang knew her partner could be shy, but until recently, not too often around her.

Yang slumped against the wall, before sliding down into a seated position on the floor. Flipping the book open, she couldn’t help but allow a small smile to escape her lips. She was no snoop by any accounts, but the thought of perusing Miss Belladonna’s personal diary was an exciting one. She was so mysterious sometimes, and Yang often wondered what Blake was thinking, and what she would write precisely.

Yang was about to find out. She opened the journal, both nervous and eager with anticipation at the time. The page she turned to was filled with neat, small handwriting, but much of the ink was smudged here and there. Yang allowed herself to get settled against the wall, and began to read.

 

How long? How long can I keep going like this? I thought I could potentially avoid her, but everywhere I go, there she is. After all, she IS my partner. I try to hide from her in classes. I sit in the darkest, least frequented corners of the classroom, and yet she finds me, only to plop down next to me, smiling that innocently sweet smile of hers.

And the teasing. Oh my, the teasing. If only she knew what was going through my head in response to all her silly, lighthearted, flirtatious. It’s a joke to her.  
But not to me.

Just last week actually, she reached across the breakfast table for the milk, and in doing so, she grazed my breast. For me, everything went still, and my vision went blurry, my limbs seized up. And of course she noticed, only to respond with, “Sorry, Kitty. My bad. Unless…you liked that?”  
And she followed up with a little giggle. I tried to force a joking smile, but I’m fairly certain my face just contorted awkwardly. Situations like those…

They’re torture. Plain and simple. I don’t physically hurt, but my heart…my heart feels numb when I’m around her. Like both it, and I, know there is nothing I can do about these…these feelings. These thoughts.

At first, when I began to feel an attraction, I brushed it off, thinking it the product of friendly fondness. I know that isn’t the case. I love her. I have for a long time. And while she cares for me back…it’s…it’s not in that way.

I’ve tried on several occasions to come clean with her. To tell her how I feel. But in the end, I always run from those opportunities. What will she think? What would she say? I don’t know if she and I could ever revert to any form of normalcy if I told her. We’d be ruined. As friends. As partners. And the potential for anything more.

For the longest time, I’ve asked myself, what is it about her, that makes me love her? It’s everything, really. Her magnificent lilac eyes. The scent of her hair. Her smile. Her laugh. And these are just some of the things I can’t bear to lose. I can’t. Never.

I can’t tell her. I never can. I would just fuck everything up. And I would lose everything I have gained from her. She gives me security. She gives me…warmth, really. I don’t truly know if she herself understands that. And If she indeed does not, well, I doubt she ever will.

Is this like running? I suppose it is. But I have to. I can never reveal any of it. She is one of the few things that both makes, and keeps, me happy. I can’t risk losing that. Not over my own fucking emotions. I couldn’t do this to her, to present her with a situation that will make her uncomfortable. I love her too much to do that.

I love Yang Xiao Long.

Yang tried to blink. She couldn’t. Her eyes were wide, but she saw very little. The words before her went fuzzy, and an overwhelming sense of numbness swept over her body. She bit down on her tongue as hard as she could, but felt absolutely nothing.

She had seldom felt shock that powerful before. Yang sat there, transfixed on the book which had fallen closed, and went over the number of occasions she had “teased” Blake in her mind. There were far too many. Far too many instances where she had apparently caused so much suffering to her partner.

Her jaw, hanging open, twitched. Blake, she mouthed silently. As if on cue, the Faunus came dashing down the stairwell, her eyes enraptured with fear. Evidently, she had discovered that her journal was nowhere to be found among her other books, and was in a mad frenzy to find it.

What she did find, was Yang, the very girl she tried to avoid so much, clutching her journal in her hands, resting on her lap. One look between the two was all it took for both to acknowledge what they now both knew.

Blake’s tensed shoulders slumped downward, as if an admission of absolute, utter defeat. Yang struggled to get up off the floor, her legs shaking. She wanted to say something. Anything to the girl who stood before her, staring at the floor. All she could manage was, “Blake?”

A brief silence held between them, all the more so accentuated by the sheer emptiness of the corridor in which they stood. Blake didn’t look up.

“I…I…” She tried, but her trembling lips prevented her from forming a coherent sentence. Suddenly, she did look up, and stared right into those brilliantly purple eyes she found so lovely.

“I’m sorry…” Blake said quietly. It mattered not how quiet it was. It was just the two of them, alone in that awfully silent hallway. “I-I didn’t want you t-to know…” Blake stuttered timidly.  
“But you know that now too…”She said, gesturing toward her journal, still being gripped tightly by Yang. She crosses her arms, hugging herself, as if to give herself some desperately needed comfort.

It was Yang’s turn to speak now. She edged closer toward the silent, shaking Faunus, almost cautiously so.

“No,” Yang said firmly. “I’m sorry. You-you have nothing to be sorry about, Blake. I just-“  
She paused, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder, who flinched slightly from the contact.

“I just wish you could have told me.” Yang said. “Not like this.” She added.  
Blake shuddered, her bow twitching, as she dug the toe of her boot into the floor nervously.  
“I didn’t…I didn’t want to do this to you. You know that.”

“I do.”

“Then could we…could we move on from this? Pretend it never happened.”

“You don’t want that.” Yang said flatly.

“Yes I do-“

“I don’t want that either.” Yang interrupted.

Blake froze, her body tensing once more.  
“W-what?”she stuttered.

Yang let out a breath, before leaning in toward Blake a bit more.  
“Don’t understand? Let me make it more clear to you then.” She then pressed her lips against Blake’s.

The dark-haired girl’s eyes went wide with surprise, with shock, but the rest of her nearly collapsed. Only, she couldn’t fall, because the blonde had a palm pressed firmly against her back.

Yang was kissing her.

After the initial shock had fled, Blake’s mind suddenly went into a panic. She had never kissed anyone, let alone a girl. Yang’s did it so effortlessly, her eyes closed with a sense of calmness. Blake tried to kiss back, but had no idea what to do.

What do I do with my tongue? She asked herself. Do I keep it in my mouth? Put it in hers? What if I bite hers by mistake? Is that a thing?

Such thoughts were put to rest, as Yang finally retracted, after what felt like an eternity of confusion and shock to Blake.  
She was too flabbergasted to speak at all. Yang gave her a small, sweet smile.

“Was that clear enough for you, Kitten?” She asked, still smirking.

Blake was breathless.  
“What…why…” She blurted out awkwardly.  
“I thought…you didn’t…”

Yang let out a small sigh, but maintained her smile.  
“Blake,” she said, “tell me. Did you think all that teasing you wrote about was purely for fun?”

“I thought… You’re like that with everyone. I thought it meant nothing.”

“With everyone else, yes. But surely you noticed I always paid more attention to you than any of the others.”

“I figured you were just picking on me…” Blake blushed heavily, staring at the floor.

“I liked you Blake.” Yang said. “I payed you special attention because you’re awfully cute. You do know that, right?”

Blake blushed even more. “I didn’t think you…that you…” She trailed off.

The blonde cleared her throat. “What I’m saying is, is that you aren’t alone in these thoughts, Blake. You never were.” She wrapped her arms around the Faunus, encompassing her slight, slender from with her broader, more toned one. “You wrote,” she said softly, while hugging Blake tighter, “that you Love Yang Xiao Long. Well… I want you to know, to understand, that I love Blake Belladonna.”

All Blake could manage in response was a meek, “Oh…” As she pressed her head against Yang’s form, finally having found some comfort, ironically, from the very same source as her stress.

The lights of the hall went out, leaving them in darkness, still in each others grasp.  
Yang broke away slowly, but held on to Blake’s hand.  
“Almost curfew.” She said. “C’mon. Lets get back to the dorm.”

Blake nodded silently, and allowed Yang to lead her up the stairwell. It was only when they nearly reached the top, when Blake let go, and said, “damnit. My book. I left it downstairs…” She tried to descend the stairs, but was prevented from doing so by Yang’s grip on her shoulder.

“You don’t need it anymore.” The blonde said affirmatively.

Blake gave her a confused look. “What do you mean? It’s the only thing I have to…well, properly express myself…”

Yang shook her head. “Not anymore. You have me.”

Blake understood. “Oh…” She said, gently nodding. “Yang…I- thank you.”

Biting her lip, Yang said, “If-if you ever need someone, a person who cares, remember, I’m here. Just try not hold in your emotions like you do, Blake. Please. For me, at least.”  
She offered her hand again, and Blake took it gingerly.

“Now let’s get to the dorm, alright?” Yang suggested.

Blake smiled softly, something she rarely did. “Yes,” she said. “Lets.”


End file.
